Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind
Short Answer
For the wording of the Hadith, see the Hadith below. This Hadith is Hasan (strong) according to Imam Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani, as mentioned in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari (Fath al-Bari).
Hadith
عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: التَّائِبُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ، كَمَنْ لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ
Abu ‘Ubadah bin Abdillah narrated from his father that The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The one who repents from sin (Tawbah), is like the one who has no sin.’ (Sunan Ibn Maja, 4250).
The Hadith above was also narrated in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer by Imam al-Tabaraani in two places (775 and 10281). Further, the Hadith is Hasan according to Imam Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani.
Classical scholar
أخرجه بن أبي الدُّنْيَا من حَدِيث بن عَبَّاسٍ مَرْفُوعًا التَّائِبُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ كَمَنْ لَا ذَنْبَ لَهُ وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرُ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ وَهُوَ مُقِيمٌ عَلَيْهِ كَالْمُسْتَهْزِئِ بِرَبِّهِ وَالرَّاجِحُ أَنَّ قَوْلَهُ وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرُ إِلَى آخِره مَوْقُوف وأوله عِنْد بن ماجة وَالطَّبَرَانِيّ من حَدِيث بن مَسْعُودٍ وَسَنَدُهُ حَسَنٌ. (فتح الباري شرح صحيح البخاري)
Ibn Abi Dunya narrated as a prophetic from (Sayidina) Ibn Abbas: ‘The one who repents from sin, is like the one who has no sin. And someone who seeks forgiveness whilst continuing with a sin is like someone who mocks his Lord.’ The sound opinion is that his statement, And someone who seeks forgiveness… is not prophetic. However, the first part is in Ibn Maja and al-Tabarani from the Hadith of (Sayidina) Ibn Masood, and the chain is Hasan. (Imam Ahmad bin Ali bin Hajr al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari).
Explanation
As seen in the Nass (text) above, there is a version of this Hadith that is not authentically narrated from the Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, Muslims need to be careful and verify the Hadith narrations they are forwarding to others. This is because sometimes sound Hadith narrations have variants that are not sound. As such, we are required to have greater vigilance.
Additionally, a Muslim who loves his Prophet ﷺ naturally would have such care and concern. Further, if you love the Prophet ﷺ, you will necessarily be protective regarding that which is attributed to him ﷺ. Despite that, unfortunately, this impulse has been dulled for many Muslims due to the prevailing religious culture in many Muslim communities. As a result, this has created a culture of indifference regarding the authenticity of the Hadith narrations that are circulated.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (14.04.23)
